passwordchecker.pm

# NAME

probes::passwordchecker - A Base Class for implementing SmokePing Probes

# OVERVIEW

Like probes::basefork, but supports a probe-specific configuration file for storing passwords and a method for accessing them.

# SYNOPSYS

SmokePing main configuration file:

     *** Probes ***
     + MyPasswordChecker
     # location of the file containing usernames and passwords
     passwordfile = /usr/share/smokeping/etc/passwords

The specified password file:

     # host:username:password
     host1:joe:hardlyasecret
      # comments and whitespace lines are allowed

     host2:sue:notasecreteither

# DESCRIPTION

In implementing authentication probes, it might not be desirable to store the necessary cleartext passwords in the SmokePing main configuration file, since the latter must be readable both by the SmokePing daemon performing the probes and the CGI that displays the results. If the passwords are stored in a different file, this file can be made readable by only the user the daemon runs as. This way we can be sure that nobody can trick the CGI into displaying the passwords on the Web.

This module reads the passwords in at startup from the file specified in the probe-specific variable `passwordfile'. The passwords can later be accessed and modified by the password method, that needs the corresponding host and username as arguments.

# PASSWORD FILE FORMAT

The password file format is simply one line for each triplet of host, username and password, separated from each other by colons (:).

Comment lines, starting with the `#' sign, are ignored, as well as empty lines.

# AUTHOR

Niko Tyni <ntyni@iki.fi>

# BUGS

The need for storing cleartext passwords can be considered a bug in itself.

# SEE ALSO

probes::basefork(3pm), probes::Radius(3pm), probes::LDAP(3pm)